Portland, which routed perennial power UCLA on Thursday night,
has not won its first five games since going 6-0 to start the
1995-96 season.

"We're on a great journey," Pilots coach Eric Reveno said. "I
told (the players) that I thought I wrote a great practice plan.
But I can't make up anything to duplicate the experience of the
last couple of nights."

"Portland did a pretty good job of keeping us off balance," he
said. "They'd be in a zone at times. They'd be in a man-to-man.
They'd trap. They did a good job of making you get to your third
or fourth (offensive) option."

Smeulders and Jared Stohl each scored six points during a 14-5
surge that put Portland ahead 48-39 with 10:46 to play before
the Pilots expanded their lead to 56-45 with 6:33 left.

But Minnesota used a 9-0 spurt to close within 56-54 with 3:13
to go. Nolen led the run with four points, two steals and a
rebound.

Smeulders and Campbell combined to make three free throws to
extend Portland's lead to 59-54. But after Nolen converted two
free throws with 20.2 seconds remaining, the Golden Gophers had
a chance to tie the score.

Minnesota forced a turnover on the inbound pass with 15.5
seconds left but Blake Hoffarber missed a 3-point shot with 6
seconds to play. Campbell grabbed the rebound, got fouled and
made two free throws to seal it.